In the Tunkinsky National Park of Buryatia, work will be carried out to count the number of snow leopards.
According to the latest data from the Red Data Book of the Republic of Buryatia, published at the end of 2023, approximately five representatives of this species permanently reside in the territory of two districts of the republic. The presence of resident individuals, as well as individuals moving from one region to another, is noted.
The region is constantly monitoring the population of these large cats. As part of the study in 2024, scientists and national park workers plan to check about 15 automatic cameras installed in places where predators are likely to live - in the territories of Tunkinskie Goltsy and the Munku-Sardyk ridge.
A variety of methods are used to count snow leopards, including tracks, scrapes, urinary tracts, and camera traps. The found samples of the life activity of snow leopards are sent to the A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution RAS in Moscow for analysis.